Orange-bellied parrots: Captive-bred birds released to boost endangered species population

Up to 13 orange-bellied parrots will be released into the Tasmanian wild over the coming weeks to help boost the population.

There have been 51 orange-bellied parrots released at Melaleuca in the past two years.

The Department of Environment said it was seeing more wild birds returning to Melaleuca from the mainland in time for the breeding season, with 21 sighted since mid-September, four more than at the same time last season.

Last year the number of returning wild birds returning increased by 94 per cent compared to the season before.